


The Art and Math of the Comma

by WolfenM



Category: Non-Fiction - Fandom, Spelling and Grammar (Fandom)
Genre: Gen, Good Writing, Spelling & Grammar, Writing, Writing Guide, grammar, grammar guide, grammar maven
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-23
Updated: 2020-01-23
Packaged: 2021-02-19 00:55:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22369330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolfenM/pseuds/WolfenM
Summary: "When in doubt, leave it out" is really bad advice -- the comma is your friend! If you're confused on how to use it, let me help you out!
Relationships: commas and sentences
Kudos: 1





	The Art and Math of the Comma

**Author's Note:**

> Grammar Credentials: I've been a staff writer for SequentialTart.com since late 2001, a proofer for them since 2002, and an assistant editor for them since 2008. Not saying I never make mistakes, nor that I never have questions or need to look things up, but I think I have a fairly solid grasp of grammar by now! LOL!

Regarding commas, I personally feel that "When in doubt, leave it out" is actually some pretty bad grammatical advice. I realise that there are some hurdles in the world of education in regards to getting that education, so yes, it's potentially classist and / or abelist to hold bad grammar against a person. But if you really want to be a writer, I'd say that far better advice is, "If you want to use a tool, do all you can to learn how it works." (Also, "If you want to break the rules for effect, you need to know what they actually are.") So for those of you who might be afraid of commas, let me show you how important they are!

COMPOUND SENTENCES  
One important use of a comma (and other punctuation) is to give your reader a rest. Let's look at a couple of sentences:  
  
1 - The dog barked and the cat meowed.  
2 - The dog lectured the cat on proper etiquette and the cat scoffed at the dog.   
  
Any time you have two (or more) sets of subjects and predicates (if you don't know what I mean, search engines are your friends), you have what's called a "compound sentence". These are two sentences that could stand alone, but have been joined because they are closely connected regarding a topic. When the two sets still make a short sentence, like #1, yes, it's generally considered okay to not use a comma between them (although it IS still okay to use one -- "The dog barked, and the cat meowed."). But 99% of the time, a compound sentence is more like the second example, which really should have a comma separating two clauses that could be sentences on their own.  
  
As two separate sentences: The dog lectured the cat on proper etiquette. The cat scoffed at the dog.  
As a compound sentence: The dog lectured the cat on proper etiquette, and the cat scoffed at the dog.  
  
Without the comma, for a moment, we have what I like to call Schroedinger's Pause. Will the writer tell us about something *else* the dog is lecturing about?  
  
The dog lectured the cat on proper etiquette   
and how to meow.

Or will the writer tell us about something else altogether?   
  
The dog lectured the cat on proper etiquette,   
and the cat scoffed at the dog.

The comma tells us that a new thought, still related to the same subject as the first, is coming, rather than a continuation of what they were already talking specifically about. Yes, a reader will likely figure things out after the fact, but why make them mentally stumble in the first place? They're already doing you the kindness of reading your work -- don't take up even a millisecond extra of their time by make them work to discern *your* meaning! And don't tire them out by writing what's called "a run-on sentence" -- that is, writing compound sentences without commas. Imagine saying a compound sentence aloud without a breath -- reading can feel mentally a bit like speaking, like you're running out of air before you get to the end. Commas (and periods, exclamation points, question marks, semicolons, and em-dashes) signal a place for the reader to take a mental breath. (Seriously, if a story has a lot of run-ons in the first few paragraphs, chances are high that I'm going to quit reading it.)  
  
There are also situations that use "and" (or "but"), but aren't actually compound sentences, yet still are best served by using a comma. For example:  
  
The dog lectured the cat on etiquette, and also had a snack.  
  
"Also had a snack" is not a complete sentence on its own, so this isn't a compound sentence. Here, the comma tells us that what follows the subsequent "and" refers to the noun in the sentence, not the verb. -- it's a list (even if it only has two items) of verbs the dog performs (lecturing and having a snack), not a list of subjects being lectured about.   
And then there's ...  
  
THE SERIAL (aka Oxford, aka Harvard) COMMA VS NON-SERIAL   
There's a sort of war between people who feel one should use a comma before the last "and" in a list (Serial) and those who feel it's not necessary.  
  
SERIAL - The dog played with the cat, his toy, and his food.  
NON - The dog played with the cat, his toy and his food.   
  
With the serial comma, it's absolutely clear that we're listing three separate items. Without it, it seems like we COULD be offering a further explanation on the first item -- saying the cat is the dog's toy and is the dog's food. If we made the serial comma the grammatical standard, we'd never have to wonder which the writer meant. Just sayin'.  
  
THE PRESENCE -- OR LACK THEREOF -- OF COMMAS CAN CHANGE THE MEANING WHEN A SENTENCE HAS MULTIPLE CLAUSES  
Let's get a little more complex with our sentences.  
  
1- The dog lectured the cat on proper etiquette, and the cat scoffed at the dog, making his displeasure known.  
2- The dog lectured the cat on proper etiquette, and the cat scoffed at the dog making his displeasure known.  
In the first sentence, the cat scoffs and makes the CAT'S displeasure known. In the second, the cat is scoffing at the dog for making the DOG'S displeasure known.  
  
PREPOSITIONS / PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES   
  
1- In the meantime the cat took a nap.  
2- In the meantime, the cat took a nap.  
  
It used to be standard that, if you started a sentence with a prepositional phrase, one would always put a comma after the phrase. That rule has gone by the wayside in recent years, but personally, I'm still a fan of it, for the same reason as one really should use them in compound sentences: it gives the reader a natural resting point. The longer the opening clause, the more highly I would recommend using one.   
  
Okay without: After dinner the dog took a nap.  
Not so much: After running around the house a hundred times with a case of the zoomies the dog fell fast asleep.  
Better make it: After running around the house a hundred times with a case of the zoomies, the dog fell fast asleep.  
  
Further, commas can mean the difference between a sentence fragment and a finished sentence.  
  
Fragment: After the cat fell asleep.  
^ That was a prepositional phrase with nothing to do. After the cat fell asleep, what happened?

No longer a fragment: After, the cat fell asleep.  
"After" tells us when the cat fell asleep -- after whatever happened in the prior sentence.  
  
THE PRESENCE -- OR LACK THEREOF -- OF COMMAS CAN CHANGE THE MEANING WHEN USING "AS", "SINCE", "SO", "LIKE", "AS WELL AS", "BECAUSE", "WHO", and "WHERE"  
  
1 - The dog stopped eating as his teeth became sore.  
2 - The dog stopped eating, as his teeth became sore.   
  
The first example, with no comma before the "as", tells us *when* the dog stopped eating -- at the same temporal moment that his teeth became sore. The second, WITH a comma before the as, tells that what comes after the "as" is an explanation of WHY the dog stopped eating. It's a subtle distinction, sure, but still there.  
  
1- The dog had been tired since it had started raining.  
2- The dog had been tired, since it had started raining.  
  
The first sentence tells us at what point the dog had become tired -- when it had started raining. The second tells us the dog became tired because of the rain.  
  
1- The dog ran round the house, so the cat went into hiding.  
2- The dog ran around the house so the cat went into hiding.  
  
The first sentence means that the cat went into hiding as a result of the dog running. The second sentence means that the dog ran around with the specific intent of driving the cat into hiding.  
  
1- The dog couldn't land on his feet, like the cat could.  
2- The dog couldn't land on his feet like the cat could.  
  
The first example is saying that the dog couldn't land on his feet at all, but the cat was able to. The second says the dog CAN land on his feet, but not in the same way as the cat could.  
  
1- The cat barked as well as the dog.  
2- The cat barked, as well as the dog.  
  
The first example tells us that the cat performed the task in a fashion that was as satisfactory as the dog was able to perform it. The second example tells us that the dog barked in addition to the cat having barked.  
  
1- The cat didn't run because he knew the dog who was approaching him.  
2- The cat didn't run, because he knew the dog who was approaching him.  
  
The first sentence suggests that the cat DID run, but that the fact that he knew the dog was not the reason why; he had some OTHER reason, like maybe he felt like stretching his legs. The second sentence tells us that he didn’t run, and that the fact that that he knew the dog was the reason he didn't   
  
1- The dog hated the rat, who kept stealing food.  
2- The dog hated the rat who kept stealing food.  
  
The first example tells us more about a rat -- and suggests that there is only one in the scenario. The second example rat specifies which rat, suggesting there's more than one rat in the scenario, and that the dog doesn't hate the ones who aren't stealing food.  
  
!- The cat was washing his face when the dog shook water all over the place.  
2- The cat was washing his face, when the dog shook water all over the place.  
  
The first one tells us when the cat was washing his face -- at the same time that the dog was shaking water all over. But the second example actually tells us that the cat was in the process of washing his face FIRST, and THEN, while the cat was STILL WASHING, the dog shook water all over.  
  
1- The cat sleeps on the sofa, where it's warm.  
2- The cat sleeps on the sofa where it's warm.  
  
The first example tells us more about the couch, explaining why the cat sleeps there. The second example specifies *which* sofa, telling us there must be other sofas that are not warm.  
  
Now, I know what you're thinking: "Wolfie, what about 'which'??" Looking at "who", you might think that using a comma means that what comes after will elaborate on what comes before it the comma -- and you would be right, in that particular case -- and that NOT using a comma means that "which" is used to specify which one out of multiple. But actually, instead of using "which" without a comma, you should use "that", instead!  
  
The bowl, which was empty, was silver.  
The bowl that was empty was silver.

WHEN IT COMES TO "TOO"  
  
1- The dog likes milk too.   
2- The dog likes milk, too.   
  
There are style books that will say you MUST ALWAYS use a comma with "too", and others say that it's up to the writer. What I'm about to suggest IS NOT CONSIDERED A HARD-AND-FAST GRAMMAR RULE, just a matter of my opinion. I contend that the first sentence suggests that someone else besides the dog likes milk. The second sentence suggests to me that the dog likes milk *in addition to* something else the dog likes, such as food or a toy. BUT YOU DO YOU when it comes to "too". (Or do whatever your editor tells you to do.)  
  
COMMAS AND QUOTATIONS  
  
There is disagreement as to whether a comma should always go inside quotations, or if there are times when they should go outside. I fall in the camp that says that, if the comma is not necessary punctuation for what goes inside the quotation marks, then it goes outside -- as I used a little ways back when listing words. Sometimes even phrases or sentences in quotes should have quotations outside.  
  
The cat said said she would "be right back", so the dog waited for her.   
"Top of the morning to ya!", "Smoke me a kipper; I'll be back for breakfast.", and "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." are some of the dog's favourite things to say.  
  
Also, when you're writing dialogue, it's done THIS way:  
"Let's go get something to eat," the dog said.  
NOT this way:  
"Let's go get something to eat." The dog said.  
*shudder*  
  
WHEN TO USE A SEMICOLON INSTEAD OF A COMMA

All too often, I see people using a comma in instances where they should use a semicolon. If you're joining two complete sentences together into a compound, but are not using "and" or "but", then if you want to be grammatically correct, use a semicolon, NOT a regular comma. It's  
The dog ran away; the cat chased after him.  
NOT  
The dog ran away, the cat chased after him.   
  
If you're making a list that involves asides or sub-lists, then use a semicolon to separate the items, instead of just a comma.  
  
The dog loved sci-fi films like the Star Wars, Star Trek, and Alien movies; fantasy films like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and The Dark Crystal; and comedies like Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Deadpool.  
The cat wrote letters to George, who was his cousin; Frank, who was his best friend; and Mary, who had been his teacher in third grade.  
  
And those are the ONLY times to use a semicolon! Well, unless you're winking. ;-)

These are the most common comma issues I can think of off the top of my head; I may add to this later ….


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